SICK-RATES AND DEATH-RATES, 



527 



the Southern States of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, South 

 Carolina, and Tennessee have an average of 2*9 per 100 ; the Eastern 

 States of Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Ver- 

 mont have an average of 1 '1 ; the Central States of Illinois, Indiana, 

 Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, also I'l ; in the Pacific States the 

 society is not thirty-five years old, so that no statistics are obtainable 

 from that quarter ; while from other sections the returns were not in 

 a shape to supply the requisite data. But enough was obtainable to 

 show that on the most favorable estimate in tropical States the death- 

 rate is twice as high as in the temperate zone. 



Making due allowance for the failure of any of the subordinate 

 officials to send complete returns of their deaths, it is a fair conclusion 

 from such statistics as are available that the average death-rate of the 

 better class of the adult male population of this continent is for the 

 temperate regions 1*5 in every 100 ; and for the tropical regions three 

 in every 100. 



But it is in the matter of sickness that the vital statistics of the 

 United States and Canada have hitherto been most deficient ; and in 

 this connection the operations of a large society making weekly pay- 

 ments to its sick members, and thus keeping some record of the 

 amount of sickness experienced by them, can be made useful. 



The returns available here, it must be noted, do not give the full 

 sickness experience. Reports are made only of the number of weeks 

 for which sick-benefits are paid. Usually a person must be a member 

 a certain length of time, from one to six months, before he is entitled 

 to benefits ; in some localities no benefits are paid for the first week 

 of sickness ; members who are in arrears to the society receive no 

 benefits. So that the actual average of sickness will be somewhat in 

 advance of the figures given. 



Taking the entire society in the United States and Canada, we find 

 the following returns for the last seven years : 



I 



Submitting these returns to the same system of grouping that we 

 adopted with the mortality returns, we have the following result : 



LOCALITY. 



Eastern . 

 Northern 

 Central. . 

 Southern 

 Western 



Members. 



196,558 

 50,350 



165,473 

 34,781 

 28,523 



Weeks' sickness. 



148,311 

 13,446 

 72,667 

 32,417 

 18,967 



Per member. 



•754 

 •266 

 •439 

 •946 

 •665 



